Animal-rights groups to pay circus $16M

Sunday

May 18, 2014 at 12:01 AMMay 18, 2014 at 2:05 PM

WASHINGTON - A number of animal-rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, ended their long-running litigation with Feld Entertainment last week by paying nearly $16 million after failing to prove allegations that Feld's Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus was mistreating elephants.

WASHINGTON — A number of animal-rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, ended their long-running litigation with Feld Entertainment last week by paying nearly $16 million after failing to prove allegations that Feld’s Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus was mistreating elephants.

Chief executive and owner Kenneth Feld said U.S. District Court approval of the settlement ended the 14-year legal fight and vindicated his circus’ treatment of the animals it uses in its act.

The settlement covers the legal costs incurred by Feld Entertainment defending the allegations. The initial lawsuit claiming elephants were abused was filed in 2000 by a former Ringling circus barn worker who later was found to have been paid at least $190,000 by the animal-rights groups to back their charges.

The settlement comes as the company is recovering from an accident this month at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. Nine acrobats were severely injured when rigging collapsed, causing them to fall 40 feet to the floor.